THIS GIVEN SUNDAY: CLOSE CALLS AND BIG WINS AS ELF ‘25 KICKS OFF
Season five of the ambitious European League of Football got underway at the weekend with all 16 teams in action and full of optimism for the weeks ahead.
For some, the next 11 games will not come quickly enough, having got big early wins under their belts, while their opponents will hope for as much time as possible before they next touch pigskin in order to right the wrongs that derailed their season debut. Elsewhere, meanwhile, some big names will be thanking their lucky stars that they were able to squeak out narrow wins, especially over potential postseason adversaries.
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WEEK 1 SCORES
17.05.2025
Fehérvár Enthroners 12 @ 55 Wroclaw Panthers
Rhein Fire 17 @ 15 Paris Musketeers
Hamburg Sea Devils 12 @ 13 Madrid Bravos
18.05.2025
Nordic Storm 56 @ 12 Helvetic Mercenaries
Cologne Centurions 14 @ 63 Berlin Thunder
Raiders Tirol 7 @ 20 Munich Ravens
Vienna Vikings 28 @ 6 Prague Lions
Frankfurt Galaxy 20 @ 33 Stuttgart Surge
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Game of the Week:
Rhein Fire 17 @ 15 Paris Musketeers
Having waved goodbye to MVPs Jadrian Clark and Glen Toonga, as well as OC John Shoop, over the winter, the Fire could have been considered as ripe for the taking as the rest of the ELF look to supplant them at the top of the tree — but Jim Tomsula’s men (even in the absence of Tomsula himself) toughed out a win over likely playoff contender Paris in the Musketeers’ back yard.
The preseason favourites both showed early on what can be expected from them this season. Paris moved the ball 63 yards on its first offensive drive, with RB Chris Voumbo repeatedly shaking off the Fire defenders — until it got to the red zone, where Rhein’s DC/interim head coach Richard Kent had a plan. Linebacker Lino Schröter sacked Paris QB Jaylon Henderson, meaning the French team could only start the game with a 25-yard field goal by Mathys Dupont.
Clark’s replacement under center for the Fire, Chad Jeffries, showed few nerves on his debut for the reigning back-to-back champions, and initially appeared to move the offense downfield at will. Despite needing WR Jordan Bouah to keep the opening drive alive in the Paris half, a 19-yard run by the QB finally put the ball into the end zone from seven yards out. From there, however, both teams struggled to make offensive headway as the game became one of defensive superiority, and an exchange of field goals meant that they went in at half-time with the visitors leading 10-6.
It was a similar story after the break, with a nine-minute drive orchestrated by Henderson, who appeared to cope better with the pressure being thrown at him, again being stymied by the Fire’s red zone defense holding firm and allowing just another field goal. The lack of productivity told immediately, as Jeffries led the Fire 65-yards to paydirt, including a spectacular 31-yard pass to RB Jonathan Scott, culminating in the QB finding Justin Schlesinger from four yards out.
But the nerve-wracking was far from over, as Henderson finally got his reward, building on a combination of plays and penalties to advance down the field before finding WR Hugo Tekedam in the end zone from 26 yards out. Crucially, however, the Parisians failed to convert the ensuing two-point conversion, leaving Rhein with a 17-15 lead going into the final period.
Although the Musketeers out-gained their opponents in total yardage, their inability to convert with the endzone in sight cost them dearly, and a scoreless fourth quarter was sealed by LB Flamur Simon picking off Henderson to end the game.
“You wait for moments like these and games like these,” Simon said afterward. “I just jumped up and somehow it was enough — I guess being 6’5″ helps.”
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MVP of the Week
Jakeb Sullivan (Berlin Thunder)
Thunder QB Sullivan picked up from where he left off at the end of the 2024 season, having led the ELF in yardage on a struggling team. Given his, and Berlin’s, performance in Week 1, however, neither might be struggling this season.
Okay, the opposition is not the highest quality that the Thunder will face in 2025, with the Cologne Centurions still looking to post a first-ever winning season, but Sullivan took his opportunity as Berlin put up a league-high 63 points on their hapless rivals, going 22-of-24 for 413 yards and seven touchdowns. Having already thrown for his first hundred yards before the opening quarter was done, Sullivan’s precision was equally impressive as his afternoon ended without the sniff of an interception, and his principal receivers — Ben Goggin and Niklas Schumm — could thank him for a couple of scores apiece.
UPS
Jadrian Clark (Nordic Storm)
It was a dream start for the Storm quarterback who, following his high-profile switch from reigning champions Rhein Fire, put up 258 passing yards and five touchdowns in the Scandinavian team’s league debut.
Reilley Hennessy (Stuttgart Surge)
Stuttgart’s QB lived up to the reputation established last season, throwing for nearly 200 yards, and accounting for three touchdowns — one through the air and two on the ground — as the Surge pulled away in the second half against Frankfurt.
Devan Burrell (Wroclaw Panthers)
The best kick returner of the 2024 season made his presence felt again, scoring twice — once on a return and again with a pick six — as the Panthers showed no mercy to their Hungarian visitors. The interception return alone saw Burrell beat all 11 Enthroners players in the space of 80 yards before finding the endzone.
Munich Ravens
Despite going into their game with Raiders Tirol as the potential underdog, Munich survived a defensive slugfest and came out on top thanks to a promising showing from rookie QB Russell Tabor
Hamburg Sea Devils
The Sea Devils travelled to Madrid still reeling from the shock exit of head coach Shuan Fatah at the beginning of game week. However, under former OC Lee Rowland, they took the Bravos to the wire in what is billed as a comeback season.
“I’m very proud of the guys,” Rowland commented. “They showed that they can play football despite the setbacks of the past week. Of course, there are things we still need to work on, but today we showed who we are and what we stand for. It was a game decided by just one point – that’s football.”
Defense
With the few obvious blowout exceptions, defenses appeared to have the upper hand in Week 1, with several teams still looking like they need more time for the offense to gel and get up to speed. Those that scored big would have been expected to given the opposition, and will face tougher tests down the line.
DOWNS
Glen Toonga (Nordic Storm)
The reigning league MVP took a little time to get warmed up before becoming the scorer of the Storm’s first ELF touchdown but, having racked up 114 yards on just 12 totes, Toonga left the game with a leg injury at half-time. Replacement Anton Witmeur added 106 yards of his own and contributed to the Storms’ touchdown count.
Eric Schlomm (Hamburg Sea Devils)
A penalty-strewn game in Madrid was always likely to be decided by fine margins, and so it proved — to the embarrassment of Sea Devils kicker Schlomm, who had a last-gasp chance to be the Hamburg hero, only to cause a false start with his first attempt at the game-winning kick, and then miss the target when handed another chance to convert.
Lions, Enthroners, Centurions & Mercenaries
Last season’s whipping boys came into the 2025 campaign with hopes of at least better fortunes, but were immediately made to wait for an upswing. While Prague at least made Vienna battle for their win, Fehérvár, Cologne and Helvetic were all soundly beaten, with their opponents putting up at least 50 points in Week 1.
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SEEN AND HEARD
- “A typical game in Week 1. There were good and bad moments that we ultimately overcame as a team. That’s typical for the start of the season. You find your way, and in the end, you want to win. We had to fight, and in the end, the whole team secured this win. We’re happy to have achieved it.”— Rhein Fire interim HC Richard Kent
- “I’m happy with how we played. I’m not surprised with such a high victory, because I knew we were capable of winning by such a large difference in points. DJ Irons did not disappoint, but I know he can play even better. I think our offensive line did a good job, they complemented each other and managed the time wisely at the end of the match. We are happy with the victory, but a good team is coming to us in a week. We will have to reduce the number of mistakes and penalties, this is the most important thing for us.”Wroclaw Panthers HC Craig Kuligowski
- “That was a crazy game, and you could clearly see what our team is capable of. Of course, the turmoil of last week is reflected in moments like these, especially in small mistakes where we got in our own way. But what we as a team — and Coach Lee — have accomplished in such a short time — is truly impressive. We acted like a family, and you could feel it on the field. The potential in this team is enormous. Now it’s all about continuing to work hard and growing as a unit.”Hamburg Sea Devils WR Jean Claude Madin Cerezo